1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to devices used to find difficult-to-see small objects after they have been accidentally dropped or are otherwise lost, and specifically refers to a projection laser scanning device and method of its use wherein it can be set down upon, or held closely against the top of a surface area that is relatively flat (level or not), such as but not limited to a floor, countertop, tabletop, and the like, and wherein after the activation of its on-off or momentary switch, the present invention projection laser scanner creates a laser beam of light with a broad field of view that is projected substantially parallel to the relatively flat surface area and just above it, to illuminate all raised items in its path and give each a glowing appearance, making them instantly identifiable for prompt recovery. For efficiency and nearly immediate object recovery, the laser beam must illuminate a broad area. However, it is not critical whether the laser module of the present invention creates the glowing effect via use of a lens cap that broadens a laser dot into a line, or via use of a dot laser that is spinning or being moved in a sweeping action back and forth across its field of view. Furthermore, use of the present invention projection laser scanning device does not present a safety risk to eyes during its proper use, as it is employed very close to a surface area that is in a lowered position relative to the user's eyes. Should a surface area upon which a small object has been dropped and needs prompt recovery be close to a persons' eyes, the object would be more readily visible and use of the present invention would not likely be needed. Areas adjacent to the original path illuminated by the present invention projection laser scanner can also be quickly and easily viewed for the presence or absence of small raised objects by a user moving the laser beam of light with a broad field of view to the left or right toward them. Thus, with use of the present invention, the locations of inadvertently dropped items that would otherwise be camouflaged and hidden from view by colored/patterned surroundings, become instantly identified as a result of a vivid and brilliant illuminated appearance created as the laser beam of light with a broad field of view scans across them. Although not critical, a red laser is preferred, as it creates a very vivid illumination effect. If the relatively flat surface area upon which a small item has fallen has no raised surface texture or other surface irregularity, no part of that relatively flat surface area will be illuminated, and only the dropped item or items on it will have a glowing appearance. In the alternative, should the surface area upon which a small item has fallen have some raised feature or irregularity, the raised features and irregularities present will also be illuminated by the present invention laser beam of light, however, the small item or items being sought will also be very evident, instantly recognizable, and easy to retrieve. There are many important safety applications of the present invention projection laser scanner, which include but are not limited to, finding dropped medication, vitamins, contact lenses, eyeglass screws, small tools, pins, needles, push pins, coins, beads, staples, paper clips, and other objects that one would not want a baby, small child, or pet to find and swallow; broken glass or ceramic shards that could cause injury to people and pets; expensive rings, earrings, and/or gemstones inadvertently separated from jewelry that a small child or pet could also find and swallow; and countless other items that can easily blend into and become camouflaged by background surfaces. In addition, although not limited thereto, the projection laser scanner device of the present invention can optionally have a magnet in its housing usable for mounting the housing for ready accessibility against the front or side of a refrigerator, other kitchen appliance, metal desk or file cabinet, and the like. Also, or in the alternative, a magnet can be incorporated into the housing to assist a user in easily picking up small metal items located by the present invention's laser beam of light. The present invention projection laser scanner device may also optionally possess one or more LED or other light sources that can be used as a flashlight for a user to employ in searching for difficult-to-see small items where the surface onto which they have been dropped is too rough and/or uneven for satisfactory use of the present invention's laser beam of light with a broad field of view. Another useful but optional feature of the present invention is a low-power indicator light useful in making certain the device has fresh batteries when needed. Furthermore, in addition or in the alternative to having a magnet associated with its housing, the present invention projection laser scanner housing may optionally be connected to a keychain, lanyard, or even a walking cane or stick, so that it can be easily carried and employed by its user.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many hazards are present in the home and elsewhere, which can be quickly remedied by use of the present invention, and for which no other device is presently known to have equal advantage. For example, people often drop small items inadvertently onto floors, table tops, and other surface areas only to realize that the dropped item or items have scattered and/or bounced unpredictably away from the original impact area, making them difficult to retrieve. The inadvertently dropped item may be medication, vitamins, a contact lens, an eyeglass screw, a pin, a needle, a ring or earring, a gemstone from jewelry, a bead, a push pin, paperclip, a coin, staple, a broken piece of glass or china, or other object that one would not want a baby, small child, or pet to find and either step on or swallow. If the item is not sharp and otherwise does not pose a risk of contact injury to a hand, one can bend over or stoop down close to the surface area and move a hand back-and-forth across various parts of the floor or other surface areas until the inadvertently dropped item is encountered. One disadvantage of this method is that it can be time consuming if many items are dropped and scatter in many directions, and additional time can be spent searching when an item or items bounce unpredictably away from the original impact area. If the dropped item is sharp or otherwise poses a risk of contact injury, as an alternative to using the sweeping motion of an unprotected hand, one could kneel or lie down on the floor and visually look across the floor's top surface in an effort to locate it. This method also has the disadvantage of being potentially time consuming if many items are dropped and scatter in many directions, as well as when any item or items bounce unpredictably away from the original impact area. Furthermore, if the dropped item or items is medication, people taking it often have arthritis, bad knees, bad hips, a bad back, or other physical impairments and/or weakness that would prevent them from easily moving down close to a floor surface to conduct a close-up search for a dropped item, and/or prevent them from bending over more than once in an attempt to retrieve a dropped item. In addition, dropped items are frequently similar in color to that of the surface area upon which they fall, become camouflaged by colors/patterns found in and around the impact area, and/or are at least initially hidden from view (such as when they bounce under a piece of furniture), all of which complicate sweeping hand and close-to-the-floor visual searches. If the dropped item is medication, one may be concerned at the loss because of its expense, or as a result of the danger it could pose for a pet or small child. Small children, particularly infants between six and eighteen months old, are often found sitting or laying on a floor, where they investigate every inch of the floor surface close to them, as well as everything on it. At that age children also tend to pick up every small speck they encounter and place it in their mouth to taste it. Pets, particularly dogs, also exhibit similar behavior, and will show interest in any new item that has fallen onto a floor, many times attempting to eat it. In addition, glass and china used in kitchens frequently pose a hazard, since kitchen floors are rarely carpeted due to the need for frequent cleaning to remove food and other residues from them. Thus, when something breakable falls and lands on a kitchen floor, such as a glass, ceramic bowl, pitcher, or serving dish, the breakable item typically separates into an unpredictable number of small, sharp, and/or jagged shards which scatter broadly across the floor. To understand in advance the scope of the clean-up needed, and also to confirm afterward that no potentially hazardous shards remain, it would be helpful to have a device such as the projection laser scanner of the present invention that could be used in and around the suspected scatter zone to quickly determine its scope, and readily identify every broken shard needing pickup. Furthermore, if it is easily accessible, immediate use of the projection laser scanner of the present invention after glass or ceramics have been broken on a kitchen floor will be able to tell those present, which of them can safely move out of the way without getting cut or tracking hazardous shards to other areas. No other device is known for its use in this regard, or for having all of the same features and advantages as the present invention.
Tools that generate perpendicular lines of light across a floor are known in the construction industry to provide visible references that facilitate layout, and certain optical lens caps have been used to convert a single point of laser light into a laser line. Laser tools are also known and used in the construction industry for leveling, installation of floor and wall tiles, fixture installation, cabinet and shelving installation, paneling installation, masonry work, installation of pipe and conduit, and interior decoration, to name only a few common applications. One such measuring and aligning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,596 to Nash (2009) which can project a point of light and/or a fan-shaped beam that creates a line on a wall or floor. The Nash invention comprises a housing, a laser generator, and an aiming device within the housing for adjusting a position of the laser light generator. Set screws 10c (shown in the FIG. 1 of the Nash disclosure) may be used to aim the Nash laser aligning device and the Nash device may also have a mirror within its housing to make a fan-shaped beam appear virtually in the plane of the surface holding it. This is contrary to the present invention device, which must project a beam just above and substantially parallel to a surface area that is relatively flat, to reveal the location of all raised items on it by giving each of them a glowing appearance. Nash's FIG. 4b shows a laser line being formed on a raised portion of an area that is in need of being leveled out. However, Nash's FIG. 4b does not show its laser beam being positioned to also skim just over the top of the raised area to reveal other raised items further behind it and also within the projected laser light beam path. Other Nash illustrations, such as FIGS. 5b, 7a, and 7c show an internal mirror being used to create a laser light beam close to a floor surface (which the present invention does not have), and other illustrations, such as FIGS. 3a and 4a show a laser beam projected too high to be useful in quickly identifying the location of small items dropped onto the floor, while FIGS. 2b and 3b show a vertically-extending fan-shaped laser beam projected to make a line extend across the floor and also on a wall intersecting with the floor. None of these examples for possible structure and use of the Nash invention teach the structure and use of the present invention. Furthermore, the disadvantages of prior art aligning and measuring laser devices other than the Nash invention, is that they typically project a beam of light too high above a surface area to be able to detect small objects inadvertently dropped upon them, such as medication, to give them a glowing appearance so that their locations are revealed for immediate recovery. Prior art laser beam generating devices have also been used in toys and games, as play toys for cats by producing a movable spot for them to chase across a wall or a floor. However, none of the prior art laser devices are known for its configuration and use to project a beam of light with a broad field of view just above a floor surface and substantially parallel to it, and use in locating small three-dimensional items inadvertently dropped onto it and which become difficult-to-see as a result of camouflage provided by its immediate surroundings. Prior art devices typically project a beam too high above a floor surface, and should their projected beams be manually angled downwardly in an attempt to overcome this deficiency, the range of their illumination would be too drastically reduced to be effective as a rapid means of locating small items positioned on the floor surface. In contrast, the present invention has a laser positioned in a small, easily hand-manipulated, palm-sized housing such that it is able to generate a laser beam of light with a broad field of view just above a floor surface and substantially parallel to it, when it is either placed on the floor, held closely against it, attached to the lower end of a walking cane/stick, or adapted with an external mirror or other reflective surface that directs the laser beam of light with a broad field of view just above a floor surface and substantially parallel to it. When such positioning is achieved, the present invention laser beam of light reveals any irregular and raised features in the floor, but more importantly will also give all dropped items on the floor a brightly glowing appearance, including those that are too small for a person standing up to see well, or at all. This application is particularly beneficial for those with arthritis, bad knees or hips, bad backs, and/or other physical impairments or weakness, as they only need to bend over once to pick up a dropped item, and do not find themselves bending over multiple times in attempts to find it, that often become futile. Use of the present invention also helps those with children and pets, to make certain that dropped items are out of harms way. No other apparatus or method is known that has the same structure, functions in the same manner, or provides all of the safety-related and other advantages of the present invention.